China "Recalls" 54 Bullet Trains Over Safety Concerns

There were some who speculated that the east China July 23 bullet train crash was indicative of bigger problems with China's breakneck spree to build infrastructure for the sake of building infrastructure. Sure enough, Xinhua reports that not one, not two, but 54 high speed trains have been recalled over safety concerns.

Friday's recall of high-speed trains came shortly after the country's railway ministry announced a slowdown of train speeds amid widespread concerns over the railway safety aroused by the July 23 train crash in east China.

What next: someone inquires into China's GDP numbers and discovers that everything is a complete and utter fabrication? Oh wait, China is the BRIC that will pull the world out of the next recession. We keep forgetting.

Alternatively, as some speculated previously, we wonder just how much of an economic slow down factor the crash is supposed to be: after all if China wishes to cool off its economy all it has to say is that going forward it will actually implement Quality Control in the production process of all goods. Next up: inflation tumbles by half as GDP growth stays precisely at 8% in perpetuity.